


Building Steam

by juniperberry



Category: xxxHoLic
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Multi, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 04:47:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20718326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juniperberry/pseuds/juniperberry
Summary: There has to be a world where they worked.





	Building Steam

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly not sure if I'm ever going to continue this ficbit, but hey, it's possible!

Prompt: There has to be a world where they worked.  
Character/Pairing: Doumeki/Watanuki/Himawari

Setting entirely influenced by listening to entirely too much Abney Park.

***

Watanuki pelted down the street. Yuuko would be very displeased if he didn't arrive soon with her lunch, and it was heavy, and--

He squeaked and dodged around an automaton, bowing in reflex and babbling apologies. Watanuki kept his eyes peeled after that, weaving through the lunchtime traffic and holding the wrapped bento boxes close to his chest. He passed the parked steam-powered carriages and the robots who served the food at the oden stand just a block before Yuuko's shop.

"I've got lunch," he said, as he stumbled into the garage, where he knew she would be working.

"Oh, good," Yuuko said. She was focused on her latest automaton, a little girl with bobbed pink hair. The automaton was bent over and the panel in her back was wide open. Yuuko's hands were deep in the automoton's innards, grease streaked across her cheeks and over the threadbare jumpsuit she wore. Her long dark hair was pulled away from her face in a complex crowning braid. Yuuko sat up after a moment, and actually looked at Watanuki.

"That isn't all for me," she said. Watanuki shook his head.

"No, I, uh, I brought some for Himawari-chan and that bottomless pit," he said. "I'm a little late. S-sorry, Yuuko-san!"

She waved the apology away like smoke. "I'll forgive you," she said, "provided you made me your delicious, Watanuki's special tamagoyaki!"

He wilted with relief. "Yes, I did," he said. Normally he would demand a little acknowledgement of what exactly it took to make the tamagoyaki "Watanuki's special," but he was late today. Yuuko was not by any means cruel, but she expected so little of him that he hated to disappoint her even a little.

"Wonderful!" she said. "I'll even give you leave to go eat lunch with your sweethearts. Just be back here at two, I'm going to need help getting Morodashi's gears in the right alignment."

Watanuki set her boxes on the bench--after clearing off a space through all the cogs and tools, Yuuko was such a slob--and rolled his eyes at the name as he wrapped up the remaining boxes. "That mute jerk is not my sweetheart," he grumbled. Yuuko was too busy eating to laugh at him, but she did smirk.

Himawari and That Jerk were in the back of the shop. Yuuko had a million and one ideas, but only so much time; so when she had an invention or an automaton nearly finished, she gave it over to Himawari and That Jerk to put the finishing touches on it.

Himawari was working on the big, spectacular metal dragon automaton. Doumeki was on a scaffolding near the top of one of the wings, a welding torch in one hand. Watanuki could barely hear over the sound of the generator for it, creaking and clanking away. Doumeki was doing something with the decorative whorls on the wing.

Himawari was at the chest cavity, where most of the biggest gears and cogs needed servicing. Her hair was bound up like Yuuko's, though she wore heavy gloves and a long drab dress rather than a jumpsuit. Watanuki knocked on the dragon's coppery exterior to get her attention.

"Oh, Watanuki-kun!" she said, her face lighting up. Watanuki could barely hear her, due to Doumeki's welding machine. He smiled and handed Himawari the bento boxes, and then stomped over to the machine and flicked the levers off.

The creaking and clanking immediately wound down to a restful silence. Watanuki closed his eyes, sighing in relief.

"Oi," Doumeki said. He was kneeling on the scaffolding, his heavy leather apron smudged with ash. Watanuki scowled at him. 

"It's lunchtime, you jerk," he said. "Yuuko-san's only given me 'til two, so get down here. Himawari-chan won't eat if you don't."

He really hadn't needed to go on; Doumeki was already shedding his thick goggles, apron, and gloves, and nimbly descending down the ladder.

Himawari had set down the bento boxes and cleared off most of a workbench by the time Doumeki joined them.


End file.
